Namibia’s eligible voters reach 1.6 million

The Namibia Statistics Agency has released data on eligible voters based on the 2023 Census, released in March 2024. According to the Namibia Press Agency, the census figures include Namibians who were 17 years old as of 24 September 2023, and those aged 18 and above on the same date.

According to the preliminary NSA report, over 1.6 million Namibian citizens are set to participate in the forthcoming national elections, with 763,772 men and 852,138 women eligible to vote, as revealed by Statistician-General Alex Shimuafeni on Tuesday, 16 July 2024.

Shimuafeni said, “All Namibians, excluding non-citizens, who are 18 years and older, can register to vote, totaling 1,615,910 individuals.” He further noted that this number could rise as those who recently turned 18 are also eligible.

Shimuafeni explained that these figures do not include Namibians living abroad, as the 2023 census used a De Facto Methodology, which counts individuals present in Namibia on the census night, including foreigners. This contrasts with the De Jure Methodology, which would count all Namibians, regardless of location.

Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission of Namibia is conducting a nationwide voter registration campaign for the Presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for 27 November 2024. As of last week, 823,761 eligible voters had been registered, with the process set to conclude on 1 August. The commission is urging all eligible voters to register within the remaining two weeks, emphasizing that there will be no extension to the registration period.